Hi, Stephen. Morrison is a name of a number of different origins. The name probably originated to indicate a "son of Maurice" (with Maurice pronounced as "Morris" and sometimes spelled "Morice"). Then this Morrison name was used to anglicize various Gaelic names. The name you cite is one of the Gaelic names sometimes anglicized as Morrison. This is part of the story, but there is another part: Many Morrisons from Scotland settled in the north of Ireland beginning in the 1600's. So you really need to know some specifics on your father's line to determine the origins of your own Morrisons---or a Y-DNA test may be a shortcut to learning the deeper ancestry of your line.

Hi Stephen,You might be interested in reading a article by MacCoinnich, A. (2015).(Dùn Èistean: the historical background, c. 1493 – c.1700. In: Barrowman, R.C. (ed.) Dùn Èistean, Ness: The Excavation of a Clan Stronghold. Acair Press: Stornoway, UK) which gives a good historical perspective on the O'Muirgheasain family on Lewis and Harris. I am attaching a short paper I have written on the Morrisons which has some further references you might be able to follow up.Alex.

Alex, there are lots of points for discussion in your paper. On one point, the MacMaurices who were supposedly descended from Buchanans, we see what appears contradictory evidence in the DNA results for McMorrises in Group F of the Morrison DNA Project. These McMorrises settled in County Tyrone in the North of Ireland. They match the Y-DNA of a number of Morrisons, but no Buchanans. These are apparently the only McMorrises for whom DNA results are available. The Buchanan DNA Project has stated there are no McMorrises who match Buchanans in that project. Settlement records for County Tyrone indicate the McMorrises there settled at the same time as other families from the Loch Lomond area, including Buchanans, Colquhouns, MacFarlanes, etc.